


the face of a lover

by serpentheir



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Blood and Injury, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Pet Names, Sickfic, Sort Of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-22
Updated: 2019-12-22
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:48:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21897682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/serpentheir/pseuds/serpentheir
Summary: based on this section of "i know you'd fool me again" by dancinghopper:"‘Baby’ gets Archie’s eyes to slide open, like it always does, which is the only reason Jug kept using it after that one time he doesn’t talk about. (Archie had had a head wound and was falling all over him the second he opened the door, and Jughead hadn’t known then it was from football, and he‘d been scared absolutely shitless, and he honestly didn’t know it was coming out until it did and now it’s, well, something, and again, please don’t tell Veronica.)"i love that fic, and i'm a sucker for pet names, so...i wrote That One Time He Doesn't Talk About.
Relationships: Archie Andrews/Jughead Jones
Comments: 9
Kudos: 96





	the face of a lover

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dancinghopper](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dancinghopper/gifts).
  * Inspired by [i know you'd fool me again](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17014923) by [dancinghopper](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dancinghopper/pseuds/dancinghopper). 



> minor tw for mentions of blood and injury. it's not graphic, but it's enough to freak jughead out.  
> comments and kudos are much appreciated! you can find me on tumblr @highendgraveyard.

Archie was supposed to be home from practice an hour ago, and Jughead had started to worry. Like usual, the gears in his head had started running haywire, making up scenarios where Archie was injured or kidnapped or had suffered some other horrible and unrealistic fate, until a sudden noise interrupted his ruminations. There was a knock at the door – well, more of a clumsy thud – and Jughead, against every asocial instinct in his body, got up to see who it was. 

Jughead could barely see him through the door’s glass pane, but there, slumped against the doorframe, was Archie. _He never knocked, he always had his keys on him, why wasn’t he standing up?_ He rushed over, turned the lock, and yanked the door open. Archie stumbled into him, unusually off-balance. Jughead staggered under his weight but managed to prop him up by wrapping him in an awkward sideways bear hug. _Shit_. He was bleeding.

“Arch, what’s going on? Holy shit, what happened?”

Archie made a tired noise but didn’t say anything. Jughead pulled back a tiny bit to get a good look at him and his blood ran cold. One side of Archie’s face was streaked with blood, his hair matted and stuck to his head. He looked like a Halloween costume for Two-Face, which would have been funny, except that it wasn’t.

Like in those news stories where moms lift cars to save their children, Jughead somehow managed to balance Archie’s weight against him and half-walked, half-dragged him to sit down on one of the kitchen barstools. Archie inhaled sharply as he sat down, and Jughead’s panic-fueled daydreams from earlier started to come back full-force. What if he’d pissed off one of his teammates, or provoked someone’s anger issues, or gotten into a fight to defend Betty (all of which had actually happened)? Or worse, gotten into it with a gang or Hiram Lodge or god knows what other fresh hell the world could have bestow upon Riverdale.

Without thinking, Jughead reached up to touch the clean side of Archie’s face with his free hand, trying to get him to look at him. Jughead couldn’t tell how bad the wound was, he knew head wounds bled a lot, but this was _a lot_.

“Archie, talk to me, are you okay? Did someone do this to you? Who was it, who do I need to--?”

After a few moments, he finally responded, sounding utterly worn out. “Jug. I’m _okay_ , I promise. It was from practice, I just tackled someone, maybe a little too hard, and whacked my helmet, I guess. I was wearing one of the old ones with the shitty padding and it just scraped me or something, but I’m okay. It doesn’t even hurt that much.”

“Jesus, Arch, I thought you were dying.” Jughead leaned into him, keeping one arm draped protectively over Archie’s shoulders. A moment later, he added: “Don’t wear one of the shitty helmets again. Please. You scared me, baby, I thought something happened – why did you walk home? You could’ve called me.”

It had slipped out before he could stop himself, some reflex from a past relationship or a random thought from his subconscious. Or something he’d always wanted to say but never had. It’s not that he didn’t like pet names – he definitely did – but he and Archie had never been like that. Unless you counted _pal_ or _buddy_ or _dude_ , which, now that he thought about it, carried the same amount of affection.

“Huh?” Archie was half-smiling up at him, which seemed like a good sign.

“I mean, you’re kind of out of it, I just wouldn’t want you getting lost or walking into the road or something. I know you don’t want to admit when stuff like this is bad, but if you’re bleeding all over your face, Arch…”

“No, I mean…what did you call me?”

“I – shit, I’m sorry, I just sorta said it without thinking, I don’t know why.”

Archie’s voice was barely audible. “It’s – it’s okay, I like it. ‘s cute.”

Jughead felt himself turn red and was immediately grateful that Archie wasn’t looking at him.

“Besides, what were you gonna do, take me home on your bike like this?” Archie gestured to his face with a ‘this whole mess’ sort of wave.

Jughead laughed despite himself. 

“Yeah, I don’t know, but I woulda figured something out.”

With his hand on Archie’s chin, Jughead gently turned his face to look at the cut. It was definitely noticeable – he felt his blood phobia response start to kick in, his hands and legs going a little numb – but it didn’t look like it would need stitches. At least, that’s what his rational brain said. He tried to keep the rest of his thoughts at bay, but he’d always been anxious, always quick to freak out when someone got hurt, even if he knew they’d be fine.

He shook his head, trying to snap out of it again and focus on the issue at hand. He knew he needed to clean and cover the wound, and he should probably get Archie some ice. (And then he’d get Fred to help when he got home because Fred was an actual adult who could schedule a doctor’s appointment or take Archie to urgent care if he needed to).

“Do you want to lay down?” Jughead asked. Archie nodded, careful not to move his head too much. “Okay, I’m going to set up the couch for you, I’ll be right back.”

Aware that Archie needed to elevate his head to keep it from swelling, Jughead propped a few pillows against the arm of the couch before leading him into the living room to lay down. Once Archie was settled, Jughead grabbed the first aid kid from the Andrews’ bathroom and returned to sit down next to him, opening it to pull out the disinfectant and gauze.

“This might sting a little bit, I’m gonna be careful so it doesn’t hurt too much, but just hang in there, baby.” He said it on purpose this time, but nervously, tempting the waters. Archie smiled at him again, wider this time, and Jughead met his eyes for a split second. He looked away reflexively, like he’d touched a hot stove, and stared fixedly at his lap. His anxiety and concern from earlier were still there, but being with Archie always helped him calm down, and he gave in to Archie’s infectious happiness and smiled back.

After he’d patched up Archie to the best of his ability, Jughead turned to face him, readjusting to look Archie in the eyes. 

“Hey, uh. Don’t tell Veronica, okay?”

Archie didn't have to ask what he meant.

**Author's Note:**

> (archie = gif of paul rudd going OH SHIT!!!!..................i'm okay)
> 
> thanks so much for reading! <3 i always appreciate comments if you enjoyed it! also, of course, thank you to dancinghopper for the inspiration for this fic. seriously, go read the original if you haven't already, it's fantastic. 
> 
> p.s. yes the title is from last christmas


End file.
